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We encourage you to sign the petition: Pacifica National Board: Do Not Sell or Swap WBAI's 99.5 FM Signal.

On Wednesday, October 4, the Empire State Building (ESB) owners won "summary judgment" against Pacifica, which means that without proceeding to a trial they were given a money judgment for $1.8 million representing the accumulated difference (and late fees) between the $50,000/month lease-license amount and the $12,000 payments that, in July 2014, WBAI's management had told the ESB was what the station could afford.

The $12,000 per month had been offered by another owner of broadcast antenna space and has been described by some parties as the "market rent." It had been accepted without complaint by the ESB for two and a half years during ongoing talks with a series of Pacifica Chief Financial Officer(s) and at least one national board chair.

Minutes before this ruling, the judge had announced that Pacifica would not be allowed to amend its "Answer" or formal written response to the ESB regarding the lease being "unconscionable" or a gross violation of fairness.

In the hallway after these decisions, our pro bono attorney, Samuel Himmelstein, said he'd made the ESB lawyers a settlement offer and, in response to a question about the antenna / transmitter remaining at the ESB, he added that a good settlement should include being released from the rest of the lease within 6 months. The lease otherwise runs through April 2020.

How the Pacifica National Board (PNB) chooses to address the $2+ million representing the judgment and rent since April 2017 and the $4-$6 million debt that the national management alleges, will make all the difference in how our foundation survives.

Settlement negotiations are ongoing and the PNB is exploring options.

The discussion of how to pay these bills has major consequences for listeners and staff at WBAI and other stations. Significant aspects of it need to be conducted in public! The national staff must end the practice of withholding information from minority members and must timely provide information to the full Board. The PNB majority must stop violating the bylaws in the scheduling of meetings. Board officers must facilitate genuine debate by scheduling reasonable agenda times and must utilize an impartial and transparent process for conducting meetings, including for adding agenda items. And they must end the muting of PNB members during meetings.

WBAI’s frequency in the middle of the dial is the most commercially valuable one in the Pacifica family. If sold or swapped, it would never be recovered, and it could be swapped again or sold to those who represent the opposite of every Pacifica value. Too many have sacrificed too much for us to lose this now.

On Thurs., Oct. 4, the case against WBAI brought by the Empire State Building management, Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT), will be back in court. In 2005, 4 years after the World Trade Center was destroyed and area broadcasters lost that transmitter location, the owners of the Empire State Building made what our longtime lawyer describes as a “take-it-or-leave-it” renewal “offer” containing a base rent and regular increases at a rate considerably higher than the previous lease-license.

In 2014, a year after the layoff of 75% of WBAI paid staff, WBAI’s General Manager advised ESRT that rather the $48,000/mth required under the lease, the station could only pay $12,000. (That amount matches an offer WBAI received from another vendor of broadcast transmitter space.) ESRT accepted that lower amount but in late 2016 turned around and sued us for the accumulated excess with demands for payments due to the end of the 2020 lease period, suggesting that we sell our prime center-dial location and move down to a spot with reduced listening range. To see letters of support and commentary, visit www.wbai.org/articles.php?article=3468. For firsthand information, i.e. the actual case filings, use this link to the court’s website.

In March, before presenting a draft to the PNB but not before running it past his allies, including some not on any Pacifica governing board, the interim Executive Director of Pacifica, Bill Crosier, promised the California Attorney General (Pacifica is incorporated in California) that selling WBAI or swapping our license were among the things he would consider. He said the same of WPFW (Washington, D.C.) but not of his Houston home station, KPFT (where he’s created another big mess).

Now it seems from their court filings that the ESRT wants to call him on those promises.

Pacifica Foundation Report to the California Registry of Charitable Trusts

Pacifica Financial Recovery and Stabilization Plan

March 30, 2017

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Contingency Plans:

IF and ONLY IF, we do not see significant improvements in the finances of WBAI (NewYork) and WPFW (Washington, DC) in the next 4-6 months, Pacifica's executive team iscommitted and determined to take additional measures to restore Pacifica network finances to financial health. As other stations are doing relatively well or stable and/or only incremental improvements are necessary, no contingency plans are being considered for those. The contingency plans may include the following:

[....]

2. WBAI – New York City

a. Much of the programming of this station could be temporarily replaced with programs produced at other Pacifica stations, at least for a few months, and may need only a skeleton crew to operate in such a case, as described above for WPFW. This would reduce expenses and save Pacifica from further liabilities.

b. Proposals will be considered from third parties who show interest in a frequency swap with another station. This could generate substantial cash for the station but depending on the specifics (such as the power and location of the transmitter), could also significantly downgrade its coverage area and revenue. Such proposals have not been entertained so far, as Pacifica wants to maintain and grow its New York station.

However, this shows the potential value of the WBAI radio license and demonstrates that, in the worst case scenario, Pacifica can pull itself out. Pacifica has substantial assets but they are not reflected in the books. This is an extreme measure and will be Pacifica Financial Recovery and Stabilization Plan, March 30, 2017 Page 20 of 21 taken only when all the options to save Pacifica are exhausted, especially if such a swap would result in substantial loss of listeners.

c. All the other options as described under WPFW contingency plans [see "Read More"] will also be applicable for New York. A new management team could be hired and would turn around the operations with or without the help of the existing management. Advisory services will also be sought to provide insight into programming to make them more attractive.

DISCLAIMER: This is not an official Pacifica Foundation website nor an official website of any of the five Pacifica Radio Stations (KPFA Radio, KPFK Radio, KPFT Radio, WBAI Radio, WPFW Radio). Opinions and facts alleged on this site belong to the author(s) of the website only and should NOT be assumed to be true or to reflect the editorial stance or policy of the Pacifica Foundation, or any of the five Pacifica Radio Stations (KPFA Radio, KPFK Radio, KPFT Radio, WBAI Radio, WPFW Radio), or the opinions of its management, Pacifica National Board, station staff.or other listener members.